FARC-EP, News from Havana, Cuba, 24.02.2015 [En]

The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia People’s Army (FARC-EP) welcomes the official announcement of the Secretary of State of the United States, John Kerry, on the decision to appoint Mr. Bernard Aronson as a special envoy from his country to attend the current peace process between the Colombian government and our insurgent organization.

Mr Kerry said that this decision follows a request made to him by President Juan Manuel Santos last December, for the United States to take “a more direct role in the peace process”, which we believe is a necessity, considering the permanent presence and impact by the US in Colombia’s political, economic and social life; they may then now be able to contribute to the establishment of social justice, true democracy and the overcoming of inequality and poverty, which is the way to open the true doors to peace.

We appreciate the confidence of President Barack Obama and his Secretary Kerry in the possibility, amid obstacles, of seeking “a negotiated peace in Colombia” and we reiterate the shared conviction that if we reach an agreement, purpose in which we put our best efforts, “it will unleash a huge potential for the Colombian people.”

Peace Delegation of the FARC-EP

Capture of US missionary Martin Stendal is a judicial false positive

Havana, Cuba, site of the peace talks, February 20, 2015

The arrest by the Colombian Attorney’s Office of an American missionary, Martin Stendal, on charges of rebellion, is a judicial false positive.

The intelligence of the police of Cundinamarca leaves much to be desired, as they confuse evangelization with rebellion. The weapon of Stendal is indeed a Bible, as well said his lawyer, and his preaching is about reconciliation between brothers. Any member of the disreputable cartel of witnesses could confirm that this citizen always preached peace between armed and unarmed contestants, including insurgents, army and paramilitaries.

First guerrilla combatant killed during the indefinite unilateral ceasefire

To say goodbye to us when we left Colombia, she waited for two hours in a small path in the jungle, in October last year; just to embrace us and say, “see you soon comrades, keep up the struggle and faith in victory”. Three months later, the terrible news: Yake died.

Yake, as we called her affectionately, was 28 years old. She died in a bombing last January 4, at 11 pm on the banks of the Tamaná River, eastern Chocó, in the foothills of the Andes. A miserable and coward attack while she was asleep in a guerrilla camp. This painful event was carried out by a Super Tucano aircraft, amid the indefinite unilateral ceasefire initiated and enacted last December 20 by our organization, in the context of de-escalating the conflict and as a humanitarian gesture.

This is the irrational reply of the Establishment to our gestures, which should lead to a de-escalation of this maelstrom we have experienced for over 50 years. The government must understand that our desire for peace and reconciliation is associated with the national clamor for a political solution to the social and armed conflict in our country.

Yake joined the guerrillas in 2000. A native of Quinchía (Risaralda), from a poor family, dedicated to growing coffee, sugar cane and other crops. Yake joined our ranks with only a basic education, as does the majority of rural people. Once she joined, she started to dedicate herself to studying and improving her reading and writing skills. This was recognized by the organization: after eight months, she was elected political secretary of the party cell; a responsibility which she assumed with great dedication.

She was an excellent compañera, with an exemplary spirit of solidarity. She participated in several battles against the army, where she was noted because of her courage and serenity. After two years in ranks, she was promoted and assigned to work with the population in western Caldas. She was kind and respectful with the civilian population, a characteristic that ranked her as one of the most important organizers of the Front.

She cared about the military training, education and personal growth of other guerrilla combatants. She exercised criticism and self-criticism in all internal democratic bodies of the organization, which speaks well of her communist education.

In moments of leisure, she stood out as a great dancer. She was introvert, but when there were parties or integrations, she was outgoing and she radiated joy and spontaneity.

With an ancestral beauty inherited from her Embera-Chami roots, her black hair like a waterfall on her back, together with her comrades, she climbed up the steep trails of the Coffee Region, searching a future for the Colombian revolution. She loved flowers and she loved life.

Always together with her boyfriend and her rifle, very feminine and a disciplined fighter, she had firm political convictions. We mourned that night, when bombs took away her life. Today her fellow guerrilla fighters, the civil population with whom she learned and taught, remember her with particular affection. In our guerrilla camps, we all miss that red hairband she used to wear.

Yaqueline became the first guerrilla combatant killed by an indolent regime that responds to the unilateral ceasefire declared by the FARC-EP with ruthless bombings and other provocations that may derail the peace talks.

For our fallen in combat, not one minute of silence, but a lifetime of combat. We shall overcome!